Description
Explore the September 2026 Sunday School lessons from Joshua on courageous leadership, remembering God’s faithfulness, trusting His promises, and experiencing His compassion.
The September 2026 Sunday School Study Guide begins the Fall Quarter with Unit I: From Nomadic Tribes to Settled People, a four-week study from the Book of Joshua. These lessons explore how God continued His covenant with Israel as Joshua led the people into the Promised Land.
Throughout September, students will examine Joshua’s call to courageous leadership, the importance of remembering God’s faithfulness, trusting God’s promises during difficult circumstances, and God’s compassion toward Rahab. Each lesson connects biblical history with practical questions about faith, obedience, leadership, courage, and trusting God through life’s challenges.
The September study includes lessons from Joshua 1, Joshua 4, Joshua 11, and Joshua 2 and 6, along with discussion questions and accompanying Sunday School Word Search activities designed to reinforce key Scripture, people, places, and biblical themes.
Weekly Key Points
September 6 — The Covenant Continues
Scripture: Joshua 1:1–11
The opening lesson focuses on the transition from Moses to Joshua. Following Moses’ death, God directs Joshua to lead Israel across the Jordan and into the land He promised them. God reassures Joshua that He will remain with him just as He was with Moses.
Key emphasis: Moving forward with courage, obedience, and confidence in God.
- God’s work continues even when leadership changes.
- God’s promises require His people to respond and move forward.
- Joshua is repeatedly commanded to be strong and courageous.
- God promises His presence, provision, and protection.
- Joshua’s success is tied to observing and obeying God’s Law.
- Meditation on God’s Word is presented as essential to faithful leadership.
- Joshua responds to God’s direction by preparing the people to cross the Jordan.
Practical takeaway: God’s past faithfulness provides confidence for facing new responsibilities, transitions, and challenges.
September 13 — Remember God’s Actions
Scripture: Joshua 4:14–24
After Israel miraculously crosses the Jordan, twelve stones become a memorial of what God has done. Future generations are to see the stones, ask about their meaning, and hear the story of God bringing His people across the Jordan on dry ground.
Key emphasis: Remember what God has done and pass the testimony to the next generation.
- God confirms Joshua’s leadership before Israel.
- The Ark represents God’s presence and also serves as a testimony to His faithfulness.
- Israel’s crossing of the Jordan recalls God’s earlier deliverance at the Red Sea.
- Twelve stones commemorate Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land.
- The stones also symbolize the unity of Israel’s twelve tribes.
- Parents are responsible for explaining God’s actions to their children.
- Remembering God’s past actions strengthens confidence in what He can do in the future.
- God’s mighty works are intended to lead people to honor and reverence Him.
Practical takeaway: Believers and churches should intentionally preserve and share testimonies of God’s faithfulness so future generations understand what God has done.
September 20 — God’s Complicated Promise
Scripture: Joshua 11:6–9, 16–23
Israel’s possession of the Promised Land does not occur without opposition. Joshua faces a coalition of enemies, yet God reassures him and provides direction for the battle. The lesson concludes with Joshua taking the land according to what God had promised Moses.
Key emphasis: God’s promises can involve difficult processes, opposition, perseverance, and obedience.
- Receiving God’s promise does not necessarily mean avoiding conflict or difficulty.
- God tells Joshua not to be afraid of the forces assembled against Israel.
- Joshua must trust both God’s promise and God’s instructions.
- Joshua follows the Lord’s directions in confronting Israel’s enemies.
- The conquest is an extended process rather than an immediate accomplishment.
- The lesson emphasizes the consequences of deliberately resisting God’s will.
- Joshua ultimately takes the land according to what God had spoken to Moses.
- The land is distributed among Israel’s tribes as their inheritance.
- The account concludes with the land resting from war.
Practical takeaway: Faith involves trusting God through the process of receiving what He has promised—even when that process includes obstacles, opposition, and prolonged challenges.
September 27 — God’s Compassion for Rahab
Scripture: Joshua 2:8–13; 6:16–17
The final September lesson shifts attention to Rahab. She has heard what God has done for Israel and acknowledges the Lord as God “in heaven above, and in earth beneath.” She protects the Israelite spies and seeks a commitment that she and her family will be spared.
Key emphasis: Faith recognizes God’s power and responds by trusting Him.
- Rahab recognizes that God has given Israel the land.
- The reputation of God’s mighty acts has reached the inhabitants of Canaan.
- Rahab recalls God’s deliverance at the Red Sea and Israel’s victories over Sihon and Og.
- She openly acknowledges the sovereignty of Israel’s God.
- Rahab’s belief leads her to take action and risk.
- Her concern extends beyond herself to her father, mother, siblings, and their possessions.
- She asks the spies for a trustworthy commitment of protection.
- The spies commit themselves to the agreement made with Rahab.
Practical takeaway: God’s compassion reaches people who recognize Him, trust Him, and respond in faith—and one person’s faithful response can have implications for an entire family.
